Chinese fishing nets

These nets can be seen all over the back waters, l find them rather graceful. They were brought by the Chinese who came over in the 1800s and must have been a brilliant way of catching a lot of fish then, although there are so many of the now they must catch each others fish. Basically, they need about 4 men to operate and work with series of weights and counter balances. The nets are dipped into water and then later on lifted; small nets are used to take the catch out of the big net.
We went out on one of the big rice boats and had lunch on board as we watched the world go by. Later on we left the Coconut Lagoon and drove the short distance to the capital, Kotchi. So we are back in a city again and a rather fascinating one it is in the old town; a mix of all the old colonial rulers, Portuguese, Dutch, British, Syrians, Jews, Copts, Muslims, they have all had an impact on the port that was once the biggest spice exporter in the world with boats and camel trains plying their business.
I bought myself a lovely black wooden spice box in the shape of a Bipal leaf as a reminder of Kerala. The Bipal tree is a sacred tree within the Hindi religion and are quite often found growing just outside their temples.